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Like a slow creeping fog, the sound of whispering comes from the shadows. It reminds me of walking beneath the willows at Riptivik except for way creepier.
“What’s that noise?” I ask.
“The spirits of the dead.”
“What are they saying?”
“They’re inviting us to stay.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.” I swallow hard. “I don’t want to be impolite, but I’m going to decline the invitation if that’s all the same to you. I mean, I have a life to live, places to go, magic to learn.”
We go a measure farther and then JJ stops abruptly. “Father.”
I squint into the shadowy murk as a form emerges. It’s a stooped man, who once must have been about JJ’s height. He has a trim beard and lines from squinting at the sun crinkle around his eyes. His father. Trehan John Thorne.
The two embrace in their half-invisible, ethereal kind of way, and look pleased to see each other—though this relative appearance of happy on JJ is merely the absence of a scowl.
“You came looking for the wand?” Trehan says. From the folds of a coat with brass buttons, he removes a smooth, reddish wand made of crystal. The interior glows like it contains fire. I guess he’s a man who gets straight to the point.
“Wow,” I breathe.
“We did come for that,” JJ says.
“We?” JJ’s dad asks, glancing around and right through me.
Without missing a beat, JJ corrects himself, presumably to protect me and cover his tracks—there’s no knowing if he’ll give JJ the wand without a long explanation as to my involvement. He says, “I feel as though Willem is still with me. But he’ll be here with you soon. He’s not ready.”
“As you should be.”
“It’s not yet my time, father.” JJ’s tone is one of steely lament as though part of him wants to continue living and the other part is very much at home in the underworld.
I get the sense Trehan doesn’t recognize that I’m beside JJ. I shrink behind him, keeping hold of the tail of his jacket.
“You left the map to lead me to you, and I came for the wand to set things right.”
“It’s futile. You don’t belong there. The world has moved on. You should be here, with us. Stay.” There’s a plea in his voice and I suddenly think of my parents, missing them so much my heart actually aches.
“Is that why you brought the wand here? To lead me to you?” JJ asks without the anger of accusation in his voice.
Trehan shakes his head. “I didn’t know where else it would be safe. Imogen would have gone completely mad had I not concealed it. A tricky bit of magic, that—not just any wizard can bring an object to the otherside. Pays to be a pirate.”
“Yo ho,” JJ says fondly.
His father smiles and for a moment I can imagine the same expression on JJ’s lips.
“Your mother is not here. That much I know. Have you seen her?”
JJ shakes his head.
His father scoffs. “Greedy for youth, for a time that had passed and she couldn’t get back. It aggrieved me to know she’d stop at nothing, including destroying our family, to obtain her ends. I’d like to have my boys back—to sail the seas and go on adventures.”
In the distance, the shore of a sparkling blue ocean appears and the silhouette of a boat with open sails comes into view. JJ’s father must have been an extremely accomplished magical to conceal the wand here, manifest in his earthly form, and create this beautiful vision.
“The Queen’s Breath. As sturdy as ever,” Trehan says, admiring the boat. Sunlight shines off the polished wood and metal.
“I’d like to sail with you again someday, but I must undo the curse, father. You have no idea where she is now?” JJ asks.
“Regretfully, no.” He gazes toward the sea until it fades into the nothingness. When he looks back at his son, his face is hard and his eyes empty.
Bumps pebble my skin.
“Father?” JJ asks.
Just then, the shadows envelop JJ, and I lose my grip on his coat.
“JJ,” I call, but he’s gone. The gloom darkens around me.
I let out an unsteady breath and back out of the canyon the way we came, scrambling up the rocks, desperate to get away from the spectral energy.
At the top, I perch on the rim of the canyon, scanning for JJ somewhere below. I try to figure out what happened. JJ’s father was friendly, helpful, and then suddenly the opposite. JJ was there and then he wasn’t.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but nothing changes: the stars still sparkle overhead, the ground is still hard, the shadows still gather in the valley. I’m still afraid, still uncertain, but suddenly very, very sleepy. I fight to keep my eyes open, but chilled, I curl up into a ball, and drift off.
The guy from my dreams (aka JJ’s brother) peeks over the edge of the sky, looking down at me. He blinks as though trying to figure out if I’m still alive. I get to my feet and wave. He points at the stars.
“Some night. Is it still night? I don’t see the moon. Is there day here?” I ask.
He shakes his head as if I’m hopeless.
“Thank you for your help. I need to find the portal, but even if I knew where the door was, I’m not leaving without JJ.”
He continues to point at the stars. I search for constellations I recognize, but they’re scattered in unfamiliar arrangements. Willem throws his hands up in frustration and disappears.
I exhale, turning my attention back to the canyon. Like a wink, warmth shoots through me, igniting the fire in my core. I realize what JJ’s brother was trying to tell me. I’m astral. The stars are the source of my power.
Could a wish work here? Maybe the rules are different. I won’t know unless I try.
I close my eyes, envisioning JJ and I passing through the shimmering door and back to the cemetery—never thought I’d hold that place in my mind with a feeling of hope and happiness. The flame within flickers to life. I picture him with two feet on the ground, whole solid, and wearing a smile. Hey, it’s my imagination.
I hold onto the fire within, summoning my energy, drawing from the stars, and calling JJ back to me.
The whispers from the shadows get louder as though moving closer the more I try to work with my magic. I fight the urge to open my eyes, afraid I attracted them and they’re surrounding me. I focus on the flame, the source of my power. I grow it larger, stoking the fires of desire, of my wish to return JJ to his state, albeit liminal.
I repeat my wish until the words blur together in my mind and stop making sense. Let JJ go. Let JJ go so we can return to the land of the living. I hold strong, feeling a surge of energy rush through me, and then hear a solid thud, land beside me.
I blink my eyes open.
“I have to work on my landings too,” I say to JJ. If he were anyone other than JJ Thorne, he’d laugh.
Instead, he gets to his feet and straightens his coat. With one hand, he passes me the wand like a baton, and with the other laces my fingers between his. “This would be a good time to run.” He takes off as I tuck the wand in my jacket and race alongside him.
The air stirs, but not from wind or our forward motion. Something is coming. I glance over my shoulder as a dark blot rushes up from the ravine.
“I get the sense your father doesn’t want you to leave.”
“It’s the will of the ghosts to keep their own,” he says over his shoulder as we rush across the plain of rock. A dark cloud follows us, growing larger the farther we get from the canyon. “I had just enough energy to still exist and resist.”
The shimmering portal is ahead. The ghosts make chase. Their grim energy grasps like outstretched fingers, eager for JJ. Without pausing, we cross into the portal.
We somehow fall upward. It’s an odd sensation as the stars diminish, the darkness turns bright, and then we land back in the cemetery. It’s nearly dawn and in the low, velvety light, JJ is fainter than ever.
Also, there’s a troll in the cemetery.
